A Clash of Civilizations?: Muslims, Christians, and Preferences for Democracy

The incompatibility of Islam with democracy has been the focal point of many public and scholarly debates. However, very few studies have attempted to investigate empirically whether the followers of Islam are less favorable to democracy than the followers of Christianity. This study extends previou...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rafiqi, Arzoo (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2019]
In: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Year: 2019, Volume: 58, Issue: 3, Pages: 689-706
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B World Values Survey / Muslim / Christian / Democracy / Approval
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AX Inter-religious relations
CG Christianity and Politics
Further subjects:B Muslims
B Christians
B preferences for democracy
B Religious Behavior
B religious belonging
B Religious Belief
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:The incompatibility of Islam with democracy has been the focal point of many public and scholarly debates. However, very few studies have attempted to investigate empirically whether the followers of Islam are less favorable to democracy than the followers of Christianity. This study extends previous research by conducting empirical and representative analyses of whether Muslims in general and religious and practicing Muslims in particular prefer democracy less than their Christian counterparts. Using country fixed effects regression and data from the World Values Survey (WVS6) that include 52,326 Muslims and Christians, the analyses show that Muslims in general, as well as religious and practicing Muslims, endorse democracy to the same extent as do Christians. Thereby, this study is the first to provide comparative, individual-level evidence of the influence these religions may have on democratic attitudes.
ISSN:1468-5906
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12614